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Aldi cashier accused of 'bullying' elderly shopper: 'Shame on you'

An Aldi staff member has been accused of bullying an elderly customer who could not pay for her groceries in a scathing Facebook post.

The shocked shopper, Jo Pavich, shared a post to Aldi’s Facebook page, where she chronicled how she witnessed a young cashier “bullying” and “belittling” an elderly woman on Wednesday at the supermarket’s Joondalup store.

“I have just witnessed the most disgusting elder bullying I have ever seen at Joondalup store today at 3:30pm,” wrote Ms Pavich in her post.

Aldi cashier scans groceries at checkout
The shocked Aldi shopper accused the young cashier (not pictured) of "bullying" and "belittling" an elderly woman at the supermarket's Joondalup store. Source: Getty

“An elderly lady could not afford her shopping [and] the very young male retail assistant spoke to her like she was an idiot then THREW the items across the counter after yelling and belittling her,” she explained.

Ms Pavich told Yahoo News Australia that the rude cashier kept “rolling his eyes” and "sighing", as the elderly woman struggled to pay for her groceries.

“She then took what she could, paying with everything she had, including coins. He was rolling his eyes and sighing, looking down at us in the queue,” she added.

Elderly Aldi shopper loads groceries into car boot
The Aldi cashier was also "derogatory and demeaning" to two elderly gentleman at the checkout, according to Ms Pavich. Source: Getty

However, the cashier then directed his malice at two elderly gentlemen, who he treated in a “derogatory and demeaning” manner.

“These poor shoppers left the store with their heads hung low, clearly very upset from the terrible treatment from this young male,” she said.

Aldi responds to accusations of 'inappropriate behaviour'

An Aldi spokesperson told Yahoo News Australia that they are aware of the incident and said that "threatening" behaviour will not be tolerated in their stores.

"Threatening or inappropriate behaviour has no place in our stores and we take such allegations seriously," the spokesperson said.

"We have spoken directly with this customer regarding their concerns and we are investigating the alleged incident."

Outraged shoppers demand rude Aldi cashier be fired

The West Australian shopper’s scathing post seemed to have struck a chord with fellow Aldi shoppers, as dozens of people called for the callous cashier to be fired.

“That is so disgusting. That staff member should be sacked. How can he get away with treating the elderly like that?” commented one outraged customer.

“This breaks my heart. I really hope this reaches head office and he’s fired for his actions,” commented a second.

Others urged the shopper to go back into the store and make a complaint directly to the store manager to ensure it never happens again.

“I'd be going back into the store and making a complaint with the store manager. Otherwise it WILL continue,” wrote an angry shopper.

Disgusted Aldi shopper swears to never return to Joondalup store

Ms Pavich confessed that during the incident she was not able to say anything, because she was so “furious”.

However, she contacted Aldi directly to make a complaint in the hope the cashier would be removed from the store.

“The Aldi customer service lady phoned me at 8:38am the next day [...] she was disgusted and assured me this complaint would be taken seriously and dealt with immediately,” she explained.

Aldi supermarket storefront during the day
Angry Aldi shoppers called for the rude cashier to be fired following the incident. Source: Getty

“She also said even if he was having a bad day, his behaviour was not acceptable and staff are trained to deal with all walks of people in a friendly, helpful way. His behaviour was not the Aldi way,” added Ms Pavich.

“I will never go to any of these shops again and will urge everyone I know to stay away. Shame on you Aldi and that kid on your register!”

While Ms Pavich vowed to never return to the Aldi store, she did notice that the rude staffer was not at the register when she walked passed the following day.

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